Victor folders
See also the Auto Victor rigid model and the Victor Vest. The Victor folders are Japanese 4.5×6 and 6×6 folding cameras, made from 1937 by Motodori. Attribution to Motodori: advertisement dated October 1937 reproduced in , p.84, and , type 3, section 7A. The camera is attributed to "Victor Camera Works" in , item 1261, and , p.945, but this was certainly a dummy name used in advertisements (see Camera Works). The original Victor was the successor of the nearly identical Semi Lester and the series was followed by the similar Condor folders. The Semi Adler and Adler III were rebadged versions sold by Asahi Bussan or Riken. General description All the models have the same body, inherited from the Semi Lester and copied from the large Baldax model. Most have a folding optical finder, whose front part folds above the rear part. The folding bed release is to the right of the viewfinder, as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally. The advance knob is at the bottom right. The back is hinged to the left and the back latch is usually covered by a leather handle. There are two red windows, protected by vertically sliding individual covers, to control film advance. The name is embossed in the front leather: VICTOR on the 4.5×6cm models and VICTOR SIX on the 6×6cm models. All the models have a front-cell focusing lens. Evolution Victor The original Victor (ビクター), announced in September 1937, The earliest advertisement listed in , p.339, is dated September 1937, and the camera was mentioned as "available soon". has a folding optical finder, a leather handle and no body release. The individual red window covers are the only visible difference with the preceding Semi Lester. In an advertisement dated October 1937, Advertisement in , reproduced in , p.84. placed by Motodori Shashin Kikai Kōgyōsho, the Victor is listed in four versions: * Delter Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex D shutter, 25–150, B, T speeds ( ); This version has been observed in an online auction. * Delter Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex B shutter, 5–150, B, T speeds ( ); * Delter Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds ( ); * Quick Name inferred from the katakana クイック appearing in later advertisements and in , p.339. The October 1937 advertisement reads クツク, a probable typo. Anastigmat 75/3.5 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds ( ). The Rulex shutter was made by Neumann & Heilemann; in the picture, it has the old type of shutter plate (see Rulex). The versions with a Delter lens are called the popular edition (大衆版). Semi Victor In advertisements dated June and September 1938, Advertisement in Asahi Graph (8 June 1938), reproduced at Gochamaze; advertisement in June 1938, reproduced in , p.85; advertisement in September 1938, observed in an online auction. the camera is now called Semi Victor (セミビクター) and the Victor Six is announced as coming soon. The company name is replaced by the dummy name Victor Camera Works (ビクターカメラ・ウオークス). The list of versions has the following addition: * Quick Anastigmat 75/2.9 lens, Rulex A shutter, 1–200, B, T speeds ( ). In one of the June advertisements, the camera is presented together with the Auto Victor rigid model. In all the pictures, the Rulex shutter has the newer type of shutter plate (see Rulex). Victor Six and Semi Victor with body release The Victor Six (ビクターシックス), announced in 1938, was not released until 1939. , p.339, mentions advertisements in between March to September 1938, but even the latter only mentions the camera as "available soon". It is a 6×6 model with a body release. Two versions exist, one has red window advance like the Semi Victor, the other has an auto-stop advance device with an exposure counter. This mechanism was copied on the Plaubel device mounted on rollfilm backs and on the Roll-Op II camera. The Semi Victor received a body release at the beginning of 1939, together with the introduction of the Victor Six. Date: advertisements listed in , p.339. In an advertisement dated January 1939, Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p.84. the following versions are listed: This advertisement was placed by Nissan Kōgaku Kōgyōsha, a company whose relationship with Motodori is unknown. In mid 1939, the Victor folders were replaced by the similar Condor folders. However a "Semi Victor II" was reportedly advertised by Ueno Shōten in the October 1939 issue of , with an Adler f/4.5 lens and a Rulex B shutter. , p.339. One example of the camera has been observed with this combination: the Rulex B (5–200, B, T) has a setting lever and is coupled to a body release, and the lens is an Adler Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5. Example observed in an online auction. The Adler lens was certainly supplied by Riken or its dependent company Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō. Later models The official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941 has four versions of the Semi Victor and three of the Victor Six: "Semi Victor I" (¥74), "Semi Victor II" (¥85), "Semi Victor III" (¥88), "Semi Victor IV" (¥98), "Victor Six I" (¥79), "Victor Six II" (¥89), "Victor Six III" (¥110), with no further details. , type 3, sections 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A; type 4, sections 3, 5A, 6A. The same list also has Condor models. A similar list dated November 1941 still has the "Semi Victor IV", attributed to "Motodori Kōgaku". , type 3, section 7A. One late example of the Victor is pictured in . , item 1261. The same information is repeated in , p.945. It has a rigid optical finder, no body release, a new type of back latch with no leather handle, and perhaps a bakelite advance knob. The lens is a Delter Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5. The unmarked shutter is everset and gives 5–250, B, T speeds; it is in #00 size and looks disproportionately small on the Victor body. The camera is only identified by the name VICTOR embossed in the front leather; it is pretty similar to the Zeitax pictured in this page or this page at Japan Family Camera except for the absence of body release (and maybe for the configuration of the red windows). Notes Bibliography * Items 188–9 and 191. (See also the advertisement for item 190.) * Type 3, section 7A. * Type 3, sections 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A; type 4, sections 3, 5A, 6A. * P.945. * Item 1261. Links In Japanese: * Advertisement published in the 8 June 1938 issue of Asahi Graph, reproduced in the camera company page of the Gochamaze website Category: Japanese 4.5x6 viewfinder folding Category: Japanese 6x6 viewfinder folding Category: V Category: 1937